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Area News

Weekend Visitors
Mitch, Gretchen, Owen, Aaron and Henry Harpster of Jackson, Mo., spent the weekend with Dane and Belinda Harpster of St. Peter. Ben, Amanda, Madison, and Dru Eller of Jackson, Mo., visited them on Saturday. On Sunday evening, Nathan, Mahala and Harper Jacquin joined them for dinner. Jan Jameson also stopped in for a visit.
Confirmation
Upon completing adult instruction classes, David Henderson, Angela Mace, and Brian and Aime Sigrist were confirmed during Sunday’s service at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Saturday, April 22
• Earth Day – St. Elmo Community Park Cleanup Day. Volunteers are welcome. Snacks and bottled water will be provided. For more info, see the park article in the St. Elmo News.
Sunday, April 23
• Following the 10:35 a.m. worship service at the First United Methodist Church, there will be a Birthday Lunch and Dessert Auction in the Fellowship Hall. Proceeds go to camping and youth funds.
• Lynn Reznick art show, 1-4 p.m., upstairs in Fayette County Museum, Vandalia.

Cogburn Rooster Busy Bugging
Cogburn, the banty Homestead rooster, who has usually crowed whenever we drive in (supposedly to let the other critters know we have returned), failed to do so yesterday. Checking to see what was going on, we saw that he was busy scratching in the dirt, obviously doing some early-in-the-season bugging, to please his ladies, Blackie and Rhonda (hens) with a surprise treat.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday, April 13
• First day of school spring break.
• Fayette County Extension Workshop sponsored by the Fayette County HCE and U of I Extension for 4-H ages 8-18, 9-11 a.m., Vandalia Extension Office.
• Fayette County Schools Annual Art Show starts this Thursday in the upstairs on the Fayette County Museum, Vandalia. It runs through Tuesday, April 18. The museum is open from 9:30-4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and will be open this Sunday from 2-4 p.m.
• Lunch Bunch, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.

The rains came and came, and it’s still coming, and, hopefully, nourishing the morel mushrooms, getting them ready to spring up, to be found and gently plucked from the moist, warm earth, to find their way to the Homestead kitchen to be washed carefully, soaked in salt water, dipped in batter, floured and fried to a crisp, golden, brown in the old black iron skillet … never to be heard from again, which reminds us of a strange, but true, mushroom story.
Cloudy, the Mushroom Detector

Attend Shower
Belinda Harpster, Stacey Bergmann and Sue Urban attended the baby shower of Tori Padberg in Patoka on Saturday.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
Sunday morning worship attendance was 197.
The organist was Jamie Lotz.
Bryan Hanks served as acolyte. Attending elders were Paul Reynolds and Brien Guy.
The public questioning of the Confirmands took place instead of the sermon.
Remember in Your Prayers
• Those with health concerns:
-Carl Benning
-Haven (brother of SPLS student)

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday, April 6
• St. Elmo Business Association, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club salad supper and membership drive, 5:30 p.m., St. Mary’s Catholic Church Parish Hall. Story teller Pam Chase will give the program. All women interested in becoming a member of the St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club are invited; but don’t take a salad – the meal is being provided by club members.
Friday, April 7
• Spring musical, 8 p.m., high school gym.

Death
Raymond Reed, 87, of Farina, died on Friday. The funeral was held on Monday at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.
Raymond was a lifelong resident of the St. Peter area.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
Sunday morning worship attendance was 167. The organist was the Rev. Alan Holtz.
Collin Miller served as the acolyte. Attending Elders were Darrell Wollin and Kevin Wodtka.
Remember in Your Prayers
• Those with health concerns:
-Carl Benning
-Beth Reynolds
• The family of Raymond Reed